Another true story from the world of economic development.
May 2001 was my version of hell month. I'm proof one survives such times.
I was working on two huge business development deals. Both were teetering though.
The home front was no easy pasture. My wife ended up in the hospital with some unknown ailment. That was after she agreed to babysit someone's dog for a week.
The political boss in the county I worked in at the time decided to take partisan matters into his own hands and wrote a nasty letter to the editor calling for the Chamber and our development group's abolishment. It was "Sweeps Week" so I had a television reporter at my front door that same evening.
All were going on at the same time and pulling me in more ways than one can normally be pulled. I've never had a month like that before or since.
It all worked out in the end.
The Exec VP of the one firm would visit, completely on his terms, for a deep dive look at the community to decide if the $75 million new food distribution center was a fit. Another million in infrastructure improvements might seal the deal though.
The CEO of a local manufacturer was pondering his expansion plans and whether they should be in Ohio or West Viriginia. He was squeezing real hard in May.
Both Walmart and Bulldog Security would decide to go forward with their projects shortly afterward.
My wife survived. She had surgery to remover her gall bladder.
The dogs survived.
And I wonder to this day how a television producer could decide that a letter to the editor in the local newspaper was newsworthy for the evening news. I'm Facebook friends with her ex-husband now though.
And I'm more ready then ever for whenever my next hell month comes along.
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